New housing loans fall a second month

By Amy Su / Staff reporter

Thu, Oct 25, 2012 - Page 13

New housing loans from five leading banks nationwide declined for the second consecutive month last month, an indication that potential real-estate buyers have been maintaining a wait-and-see attitude under the price registration policy launched on Aug. 1, the central bank said yesterday.

The five banks — Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南商業銀行) and First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) — made NT$37.38 billion (US$1.27 billion) in new housing loans last month, the central bank said in its monthly statement.

The NT$37.38 billion in loans was NT$8.4 billion less than the NT$45.78 billion posted in August, the central bank said.

“Most people retained an expectant attitude toward the property market after the implementation of real-price registration policy raised by the government,” Chen E-dawn (陳一端), deputy head of the bank’s economic research department, told a press conference, adding that attitude was a drag on demand for housing loans last month.

Transfer of ownership of houses totaled 2,796 in Taipei last month, down 20.25 percent from August, while transfers in New Taipei City (新北市) fell 20.59 percent to 5,210 last month from a month earlier, in line with the trend in new housing loans, Chen said, citing data from the Construction and Planning Agency.